Holocaust-Related Writings
Taken Away
Don Butler and I have written TAKEN AWAY, a play for students in grades 5-12. The one-hour play will be performed twice a day at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, October 8-12, and then it will go on the road to local schools for two weeks. Here’s our synopsis of the play:
“Germany, 1937. Twelve-year old Elfie Hoffmann has noticed that things have been changing around her but she doesn’t think the changes will affect her. However, on the day before Christmas Eve, Elfie’s best friend brings her a gift that has unexpected consequences, and Elfie discovers the importance of family, even as the Nazis take away everything she loves.”
Interested in seeing the performance or having it come to your school in south Florida? Click on the link for the Kravis brochure: Education Brochure 2018-2019 - Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.
Interested in learning more about the play? Contact me at deborahleeprescott@gmail.com
TAKEN AWAY, by Don Butler and Deborah Lee Prescott. A StoryMakers Production. Sponsored by inSIGHT THROUGH EDUCATION, INC.
What People Are Saying About Taken Away
“Thank you, thank you so much.”
“Today I had the opportunity to see TAKEN AWAY. A powerful story very well presented. I was very impressed with the cast. I hope the audience leaves with the understanding that the Holocaust happened to ordinary people who were living ordinary lives until everything was turned upside down.”
“That was such a powerful performance that now my heart really hurts. . . As one of my colleagues mentioned to me, the play was the most meaningful and straightforward experiences our students have ever had about the Holocaust. I am so happy that the discussion occurred afterward, thank you so much. Thanks to all the actors and your fabulous sound man.”
“Everyone thinks this show is special ”
“The show was great, and it really invited a discussion among the students. As ever, the Kravis-on-the-Road crew were exemplary professionals . . . This project is such an important part of the arts education”
Imagery from Genesis in Holocaust Memoirs: A Critical Study
The Holocaust has been a life-long interest. As a graduate student in literature, I focused on how survivors described their lives in their autobiographies in my doctoral dissertation, which later became the scholarly text, Imagery from Genesis in Holocaust Memoirs: A Critical Study. Trying to understand how the Holocaust happened (can we ever know why?) has led me to a new career as playwright. My colleague Don Butler and I have co-written a play for Middle Grade and High School students, TAKEN AWAY, which is set in Nazi Germany before World War 2 began. The play will be performed for school audiences Fall 2018. Don and I are working on our second play, which will be for adults; we continue to explore the consequences of the Nazis’ actions.
